No. 3 Kansas 64, No. 1 Baylor 61 Postgame Thoughts

#1 Baylor (24-2; 13-1) takes their first conference loss of the year to the Kansas Jayhawks (24-3; 13-1). Udoka Azubuike was dominant for Kansas scoring 23 points and grabbing 19 rebounds with 3 blocks. Jared Butler led the Bears with 19 points; 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Observations

-- Udoka Azubuike may be 32 years old, but today he was definitely a man among boys scoring 23 points; grabbing 19 rebounds and blocking 3 shots. The Bears had no answer for him in the paint. 3 seconds in the lane may not still be a thing, but credit Udoka for finishing strong and dominating the glass.

– The Bears got good contributions from Matthew Mayer off the bench today (10 points; 3 rebounds and 2 steals) but Bandoo and Clark only combined for 2 points and 2 rebounds (all coming from Clark). The lack of bench production from Bandoo may have been a deciding factor in the game. The Bears need scoring from him and in 16 minutes, he recorded very few stats.

– This team fights. They got down 11 late in the second half and battled back to have a shot at the buzzer to put the game into OT. You want Butler taking those shots, just came up short. Kansas played at a really high level today. Looking forward to round 3 of this match-up with Macio Teague at full speed.

– Marcus Garrett was invaluable for the Jayhawks. He made Jared Butler work really hard for his 19 points (18 shots) and Garrett also gave KU some offensive production: 9 points; 4 rebound and 7 assists. Although he also had 5 turnovers.

– Love the defensive tenacity of Mitchell, Butler, Vital, Teague and Gillespie with the game on the line. They outscored KU 21-14 in the last 10 minutes, just couldn’t overcome poor free throw shooting (8-15 and multiple front end of one and ones) and the poor 10 minute stretch to start the second half where the Bears only scored 9 points.

Bonus

-- Bill Self is a good sport. He saw a large picture of Jim Gatto who is serving time in prison for his role with Adidas in providing payments to multiple Kansas basketball players. Kansas sued him for defrauding the school and won a judgment against him. Something that KU has been heavily criticized for. But to Bill’s credit, he saw the picture and said “that’s good, that’s next level.”

– KU assistant Kurtis Townsend on the other hand was not the classiest winner. He was yelling expletives back at the Baylor fans for some reason. Perhaps the photo and the fans dressed up in FBI suits hit a nerve.

The Bears play Kansas State Tuesday night in the Ferrell Center at 8pm CST.

There is a reason KU has been a basketball powerhouse for decades, and it was on display yesterday.Yet despite all of their talent, coaching and drive, the Bears made it come down to one shot.I like this team's chances in the coming tournament(s).

There is a reason KU has been a basketball powerhouse for decades, and it was on display yesterday.Yet despite all of their talent, coaching and drive, the Bears made it come down to one shot.I like this team's chances in the coming tournament(s).

They will meet the Jayhawks again.Maybe twice.

And if Butler hits that last shot, there is no doubt we beat them in OT. And foul out a couple of their players in the process.